Peppers should have impact on Bears' tackles

With the addition of Julius Peppers, the Bears are hoping for more production from tackle Tommie Harris. (Jos? M. Osorio, Chicago Tribune)

The Bears are banking on the addition of Julius Peppers having a positive impact on the end who lines up on the other side of the line, Mark Anderson.

They are also hoping the arrival of the prized pass rusher will have a positive impact on tackle Tommie Harris. If nothing else, Peppers ought to take the spotlight off Harris, who hasn't been the same player the past few seasons and certainly endured a rollercoaster year in 2009 when he was benched for one game and ejected in the first quarter of another.

The under tackle is still the signature position of the Tampa Two and because of that Lovie Smith is counting on Harris, who has now pocketed the bulk of the money in his contract extension, to deliver. But it's not all on Harris. Let's take a look at the defensive tackles:

Number of defensive tackles on the roster at the start of the 2009 season: 6

Projected number of defensive tackles on 2010 roster at start of the season: 5 or 6

Getting down to basics: General manager Jerry Angelo expressed concern about the performance of Harris early last season but by the end of the year the Bears said Harris was improved and returning to his old form even if his statistics didn't show that. The thing is, it's awfully difficult to judge the performance of tackles on stat sheets. One source said the Bears considered Harris instead of Alex Brown when it looked to trim from payroll. The club made the decision to keep Harris, who had a $2.5 million roster bonus due in June. What was perhaps most frustrating was the performance of Harris after the arrival of Rod Marinelli as line coach. Perhaps that's more a result of out-of-line comparisons to Warren Sapp than anything else, but the fact is Harris hasn't been the Pro Bowl performer the Bears believed they were paying when they extended him. Now, they're hoping for a return on their investment and with Peppers being the top dog, at least at the ATM, the focus will be on him and that could allow Harris to flourish. He still is explosive at his position, he just doesn't display it with the consistency he once did and there is no question that his knee issues have hampered him. The key is keeping him healthy and that means Harris will probably be rested from time to time in practice.

Adams has unquestionably been the most consistent performer on the interior of the line since he arrived in 2007. He's not going to do anything flashy but consider his seven tackles for loss tied for second on the team behind Harris (10). That being said, the Bears will be a better defense if Harrison can live up to his potential and win the starting job next to Harris. One scout said he was the best player on the line last season for the Bears even after a slow start when he showed up for training camp terribly out of shape.

Idonije is a wild card guy inside because if Corey Wootton or Henry Melton cannot carve out a spot in a rotation behind Peppers and Anderson, he will probably have to move back outside. Still, he's a solid nickel pass rusher on the interior and you can expect him to maintain that role. Gilbert needs to find a way to get on the field or the third-round pick from 2009 will fade from the scene quickly.

Glass half full: It might be unrealistic at this point, but if Harris can play at a Pro Bowl level again this season getting help from those around him, he'll make the Bears decision to wait patiently for him a good one. If Harrison steps up in a big way in his third season ÃÂ players that are going to stand out usually do so by Year 3 ÃÂ the Bears will be even stronger through the middle.

Glass half empty: You've seen this story play out before. It's the one where Harris and Smith are on different pages when it comes to how much he's practicing and what level he's performing at on the field.

Under the microscope: Harris is always under the microscope, so let's trying someone different. When Harrison dropped to the third round of the 2008 draft, the Bears said they were getting someone that had a first-round grade. The time has come for Harrison to live up to that grade. He's got the size and athletic ability to be a force .